Bass (Key Seat)

MP

Brian Paynter (Liberal) since 2014.

Profile

Bass is the first predominantly rural electorate south-east of Melbourne. It begins on Melbourne's growing south-east fringe, taking in parts of Clyde and Pakenham, before extending south around Western Port to include Koo-wee-rup, Lang Lang, Wonthaggi, Inverloch, San Remo and all the communities on Phillip Island. Covers 1,383 square kilometres.

While traditionally a semi-rural electorate, Bass is undergoing rapid population growth with new housing estates sprouting on the northern boundary of the electorate near Cranbourne and Pakenham. Electoral nrolment in Bass has risen 31% since the 2014 election. (Map)

Background

Bass is the name adopted in 2002 for an electorate that had been known as either Western Port or Gippsland West for several decades. It is a traditional Liberal electorate and under both previous names had been represented by Alan Brown from 1979 until his retirement in 1997. Brown had a spell as Liberal Party leader in the early 1990s, filling an interregnum in Jeff Kennett's long reign as leader, and he later served as Transport Minister in the Kennett government before retiring in 1997 to become Victorian Agent-General in London.

At the by-election following Brown's resignation, the seat then known as Gippsland West was won by Independent Susan Davies, a former Labor candidate for the seat. Davies was easily re-elected on Labor preferences at the 1999 state election, becoming one of the three cross-bench independents who chose to put the Bracks government into office after the Frankston East re-election

A redistribution re-named this seat Bass before the 2002 election and added parts of Pakenham to the seat, making it a much tougher proposition for Davies. She was defeated in 2002 by the Liberal Party's Ken Smith, who for many years had represented the district in the Legislative Council as MLC for the overlapping South Eastern Province. Smith was easily re-elected as member for Bass in 2006 and 2010.

Smith's decision to retire came after a difficult end to 2013, his position as Speaker undermined by ex-Liberal MP Geoff Shaw. Unhappy at how Smith had dealt with accusations against him of mis-using his parliament supplied car, Shaw left the Liberal Party and over several weeks of sittings paralysed the work of the Legislative Assembly, either by being absent from the chamber or supporting Labor procedural motions. By early 2014 Shaw's antipathy to Smith in his role as Speaker had reached the point where the Napthine government was losing control the Assembly, resulting in Smith resigning as Speaker and announcing he would not contest the 2014 election.

Bass recorded a 7.8% swing to Labor at the 2014 election, one of the largest in the state. This may have been due in part to Smith's retirement, but may also reflect the growth of new housing estates in the north of the electorate.

Past Election Results

Year

Winning Party

2002

LIB

2006

LIB

2010

LIB

2014

LIB

Coloured tab indicates seat won by a party forming government

Polling Place Results

The Liberal party recorded two-party preferred majorities in 18 of the 23 polling places used in 2014. The Liberal votes ranged from 41.5% at Wonthaggi Town Hall to 76.2% in Catani Recreation Reserve.

Labor's strong vote in Wonthaggi shows the persistence of voting patterns over decades. Wonthaggi is a former black coal mining town, and 50 years after the mine closed in 1968, it still shows up as a Labor's best booth in West Gippsland.

(Click on polling place for more detail of result.)

2018 Ballot Paper (8 Candidates)

Candidate Name

Party

PAYNTER, Brian

LIBERAL

LE SERVE, Clare

CRUGNALE, Jordan

AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

McPHEE, Ross

LABOUR DLP

BAUER, Ron

LEMPRIERE, Kate

RIPA, Frank

SHOOTERS, FISHERS AND FARMERS VIC

ARNAULT, David

AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Candidates

Brian Paynter

LIBERAL

Paynter grew up in Pakenham where his family ran a local newsagency. Following in his father's footsteps, Paynter started his own small business and built a successful accounting firm from the ground up. First elected at the 2014 election, Paynter was an ambassador for the White Ribbon Foundation and involved with the Make a Wish Foundation. He was Chairman of the Casey Cardinia Foundation for ten years, served on the board of Outlook (Vic) Inc for 16 years and was School Council President at Pakenham Secondary College.

Clare Le Serve

Le Serve has a background that includes small business, community development and childcare. She is currently a Bass Shire Councillor and is a former Mayor. Le Serve also contested Bass at the 2014 election, out-polling the Greens with 10.8%. She has lived in the electorate for 45 years, helped to run the family farm and has raised a family while driving community projects and environmental protection.

Jordan Crugnale

AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Crugnale grew up in Albany, Western Australia, the child of migrant Italian parents. She trained as a teacher of English as a second language and has since worked in the education, mental health, aid and arts sectors. Her work has ranged from on the ground community led initiatives in regional Australia and overseas, through to high level strategic and advocacy projects. She has also been a councillor and Mayor with the Bass Coast Shire.

Ross McPhee

LABOUR DLP

McPhee's family connections to the Bass electorate stretch back almost 20 years. He has extensive experience in education and vocational training, in both paid and voluntary positions. He has also previously worked as a cleaner, storeperson, and held roles in legal and financial services firms.

Ron Bauer

Bauer has been a resident of Bass since 1981, first as a holiday house owner and now as a semi-retiree on Phillip Island. For the past 40 years Bauer has been running a 5th generation family jewellery business. He states he is no stranger to the rough and tumble of politics after serving on the National Jewellers Association Board and as Australia's delegate to the International Jewellery Congress. He has also been the chairman of the Gemmological Association of Australia on several occasions. Last year he was the inaugural president of the Reason Victoria party last year, though he is contesting Bass as an Independent.